Looking into a Volcano at Mt Bromo

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to look inside of a volcano? At Indonesia’s Mt. Bromo, you can see for yourself.

The journey begins in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, in the far east of Java. We arrived at our hotel the day before and rested up for a middle-of-the-night departure for sunrise.

After sunrise we took jeeps across the sand sea and hiked up Mt. Bromo. Here, some chose to ride horses up the volcano side. The hike wasn’t difficult—but it was uncomfortable. Throughout the 45-minute climb, winds whipped up fine sand and minerals into our face and the corners of our eyes.

The last section is too steep for horses and must be climbed by foot. At the top is the big moment when you get to peer inside an active volcano.

So what does it look like inside a volcano?

Well, for starters, it smells bad. All the gases are rising out and stinging the inside of your nose when you breathe in. You’ll be breathing through your nose because like I said, there is dust whipping up that you won’t want to breathe into your mouth. It’s also quite difficult to protect your eyes.

The insides were a steep pitch to the bottom of the volcano. All we could see were clouds of gas seeping out. But we were looking inside of a volcano!

Sunrise over Mt. Bromo Indonesia

That’s when we piled into the jeeps and rode through the darkness for a few miles up the mountain.

At the end of the road we were in the company of plenty of other intrepid souls doing the same exact thing. We were all here for sunrise over Mt. Bromo and the astonishing landscape panorama of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The area, located in eastern Java was declared a national park in 1982 and is one of the highlights of any trip to Indonesia.

The viewpoint for sunrise, high above the caldera, required a 20-minute hike up, where we waited a few minutes, all looking towards the east. But the real display of beauty would be in the opposite direction.

Here the sand sea, Mt. Bromo, and the rest of this ancient caldera would be irradiated by the orange rays of the sun. It is a landscape comparable only to the surface of the moon. Inside this gigantic former volcano, five new volcano cones have emerged.ï¿½ To the right of Bromo, in the foreground, stands Mount Batok, the only one which is no longer active.

In the background looms the massive Mount Semeru, rising to 3,676 meters, the highest mountain in Java. You can often see a puff of steam escaping out the top.

Below it all, the Tengger sandy area (sand sea) has been protected since 1919 and is thought to be the only conservation area in the world which possesses a unique sand sea at such a high altitude, about 2000 meters above sea level.

Climbing the volcano at Mt. Bromo is only one of the many amazing outdoor activities that a trip to Indonesia offers. The images of the lunar-like caldera landscape at sunrise and the moment I peered into an active volcano are ones that will remain with me always.